Victorian Butter Stamp and Glass Butter Churn
Kiplin Hall and Gardens

Moulds and stamps to shape butter were used from Tudor times onwards, rising in popularity in Victorian homes and farms. In commercial settings, they acted as a label or mark to help customers to identify which farm the butter had come from and provide easy recognition of favoured farm produce. In homes, they were used as decoration and a reflection on the refined tastes of the homeowner.

They were often made from fine grained woods including sycamore which did not taint the flavour of the butter.

This example is part of the Annie Marchant Kitchen and Dairy Collection at Kiplin Hall and Gardens. Annie Marchant was an antiques dealer. She died in 2020, leaving her collection, along with the funds to care for it, to a museum. She had a particular passion for reusing and recycling, as well as growing and preserving produce after harvest, often reflected in the objects she collected.   

An important product

Butter was the main fat used in a range of baking, including in pastry, as well as eaten on bread, so butter was much in demand. Extra was made during the summer months when cows were producing more milk, to be stored for the winter. Before the job was mechanised, creating butter from milk was a labour-intensive process, almost always carried out by women. 

This glass butter churn with wooden paddle, also from the Annie Marchant Collection, gives us a glimpse into how it was done.  

The dairy maid would milk the cows, carry the pail inside and strain it to remove impurities. It would be left next to stand in shallow dishes to allow the cream to rise over the course of the following day or two. This cream, once skimmed from the milk, could then be churned for butter by moving the paddle moved back and forth vigorously. The set butter was scraped out, leaving the buttermilk for drinking or baking.

This churn would have been considered a luxurious alternative to the simple and more usual barrel which was operated with a plunger worked up and down.  

 Collectible items

Today, butter moulds and stamps have become collectible, especially those that are pre-Victorian, and are having a bit of a come back. Some chefs and restaurants now provide diners with beautifully-shaped butter or even butter sculpture.

You can often find Victorian examples of butter stamps in museum collections. Their designs vary widely, often featuring agricultural imagery, like this example with a sheaf of wheat, from Ryedale Folk Museum in the North York Moors. Other popular designs included floral motifs.